Hormigueros Municipio, PR Insulation Payback
Hormigueros Municipio attic insulation, by the numbers
Hormigueros Municipio sits in IECC climate zone 1 (Hot-Humid) — long, muggy summers and mild winters, where cooling dominates the energy bill. For a currently uninsulated attic, DOE and ENERGY STAR recommend building up to R-30. For an attic around 1,000 square feet, closing the gap from R-2 to R-30 costs around $1,680 and saves an estimated $804 a year — payback in roughly 2.1 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Where the savings come from
Split it out and it's roughly $0 a year on the heating side, $804 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Hormigueros Municipio lands in the 4th percentile nationally. Zone 1 alone covers 81 counties in this dataset, and Hormigueros Municipio comes in 20th by savings. Puerto Rico averages $660/year across the counties tracked here; Hormigueros Municipio comes in 22% higher.
Hormigueros Municipio's actual weather, not a national average
NOAA's MAYAGUEZ CITY, PR RQ station, 3.9 miles from Hormigueros Municipio, supplies the 0 HDD and 5,187 CDD this estimate runs on. That combined heating-and-cooling load ranks Hormigueros Municipio 2188th nationally by total degree days — the 31th percentile. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Hormigueros Municipio sits in moisture regime A (humid), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
The smaller top-up scenario
If Hormigueros Municipio's attic already has 3-4 inches of old insulation (about R-11) rather than bare joists, the recommended target drops to R-25. That smaller top-up costs around $840 and saves an estimated $88/year — payback about 9.6 years. Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Next steps for a Hormigueros Municipio attic
Get more than one quote before committing. Attic access and any needed air sealing move the price around, and most contractors won't take a job below roughly $600 regardless of size - worth asking upfront given Hormigueros Municipio's estimated $804/year on the line.
Where these figures come from
Hormigueros Municipio's R-30 target and its degree-day figures both come from named federal sources - see the methodology guide for exactly which ones. The guide to what R-value actually means explains why R-30 is the target here specifically.